A few more COVID tickets in the northeast last week, but many not related to province's 'stay-at-home order'

Police in the northeast have issued a few more tickets in the week or so since the premier issued a "stay at home" order.

North Bay Police were called out to a gathering in a private home and while many of the guests had left, they fined one man $880. They also issued two warnings in the first week.

Greater Sudbury Police issued six warnings over that time and fined one person from Quebec who was in a car crash last week and was discovered to have travelled to Sudbury for "non-essential reasons."

Over the weekend, police also responded to a gathering in a private home and fined the person who lived there for "complete disregard for the current provincial orders."

Greater Sudbury Police say that the number of COVID complaints being called in has not increased since Premier Doug Ford ordered everyone to stay home. 

Provincial police across the region have issued nine COVID related tickets since the order came down, compared with 24 all of last year.

But Sgt. Carlo Berardi says the stay-at-home order hasn't changed how officers are enforcing the pandemic laws. 

"I'm not sure it's changed anything substantially differently. I think it's something we just continue to respond to," he says.

"Last year since the regulations were implemented we laid 24 charges. This year, so far in the first 22 days, we've laid ten. So it appears people are still not abiding by the regulations."

But Berardi also says OPP officers are now quicker to write tickets, since the public is well aware of the COVID restrictions. 

Sault Ste. Marie Police haven't issued any fines, but responded to 14 calls during the first week of the stay-at-home order, compared with five the week before and nine the week before that.

Corporate communications manager Lincoln Louttit says officers were sent out to children playing in a school yard and a suspicious number of cars parked at a private home, but most of the complaints were "unfounded."

It was a similar story for Timmins Police, who say that "compliance is remarkably high so far." 

Municipal bylaw officers and public health inspectors across the northeast have also received more COVID complaints in the past week, but only those in Greater Sudbury were markedly busier. 

Two businesses in Greater Sudbury were fined for "opening contrary to the provincial order" last week, compared with five fines issued during the first 10 months of the pandemic. 

Bylaw officers checked out COVID complaints about 53 businesses and 35 related to private gatherings in the first week of the stay-at-home order, compared with 23 calls the week before. 

The City of Timmins sent out bylaw officers to 139 possible COVID cases before Jan. 12 and 15 after the stay-at-home order took effect. 

Public Health Sudbury and Districts says it received nine COVID-19 complaints between Jan. 10 and Jan. 20, compared with 23 complaints between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9.